


Point of View

by FixStation



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Awkward Sexual Situations, Crack Treated Seriously, Don’t know where I’m going w this, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Good Tom Riddle, M/M, Sane Tom Riddle, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Sexual Humor, Sorry Not Sorry, The usual horror of getting to know each other biblically, University Student Harry Potter, University Student Tom Riddle, Unresolved Sexual Tension, also dumbledore’s ass makes an appearance, ending with totally gonna tap that ™, good on u, i hate this ship, so whoevers into that, starts with am i gonna tap that? ™, the nile is not just a river
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:28:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29369304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FixStation/pseuds/FixStation
Summary: “You won’t be putting anythingin,” Tom interjected, “I’m writing the main character, ergo I need to be in his perspective.” He unbuttoned his shirt and made himself comfortable on the pillows.“Pass me the bottle, Potter.”The younger man didn’t move.“I don’t know why this is such a shock to you -Did you not read the script?”Boy meets boy. Boy asks boy to have sex with him for creative writing purposes. A love story.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Comments: 42
Kudos: 140





	Point of View

**Author's Note:**

> > Don’t forget to read the tags and rating!
> 
> > Please **don’t** use this fic for romantic or sexual advice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What if we did place you in his position?”

Harry was having a nice day.

He took a nice jog outside campus, and breezed through his classes until noon, with more time to spare. He decided to go through the _Sports Digest_ magazine that Sirius had left for him last week.

And that’s where he is currently, reclined on the old yellow sofa that came with the apartment, as he slowly dozed off with the small magazine dumped on his chest.

The front door slammed open and Harry grimaced as his roommate’s voice pierced the silence.

“Barty- it’s ridiculous!” Tom Riddle said into the phone as he kicked off his shoes, and meticulously placed his bag on the kitchen bar, “a _movie franchise_ \- they’re making a movie franchise out of the goat’s work.” 

Harry was sitting up on the couch, debating whether to move to his bed or to just visit Ron, when Tom dropped a copy of _Gellert’s Choice_ on the coffee table.

“Have you read this?” He demanded.

“Have I- no, definitely not, but I’ve heard of it,” Harry frowned as he noticed the title, “why do you have a copy of this?”

“Because it was recommended,” Tom seethed, “a best-seller. Now with a movie franchise in the making. It’s nominated for a Pulitzer.” He sat on the empty space next to Harry, with a face of complete resignation. 

“Written by Albus Wulfric Dumbledore?” Harry muttered, as he examined the book. Some of the pages were obviously thumbed through, and the top of the spine was folded awkwardly.

Tom scoffed, “it’s erotica, disguised to be some revolutionary queer masterpiece.”

Harry shrugged, “art is objective. Hermione liked it.”

“I wouldn’t place as much trust in her taste,” he grumbled. 

Harry was fully awake now, and he took off his glasses to clean with his shirt as he faced his roommate, “still don’t see a problem. The general public enjoys it, why not make a movie?”

“Potter,” Riddle faced him, “the general public enjoys this book, but not for the quality. It’s garbage- I’ve reviewed essays with stronger writing. The dialogue wanes and the main arc is a feeble parallel to-“ Tom breathed through his nose and bit his lip in uncontained frustration.

Harry put on his glasses, and observed that his roommate’s usually meticulous disposition was...dead and buried. His hair was disheveled, and his shirt collar was folded in weird angles. His dark green sweater had a mysterious stain (which Harry opted not to mention). He also smelled like he put an overbearing amount of cologne this morning.

They weren’t _buddies_ , but Harry has lived with him long enough to assume that this was Riddle’s version of a _downward spiral._

Tom shut his eyes and sagged his head on the back of the couch with a shaky groan, “the parallels to Orestes and Pylades are overdone, and mediocre, and have _no right_ winning a goddamn _Pulitzer_.”

“Technically it’s only nominated,” Harry pursed his lips as he flipped to the first page, “nothing to damage your hair over.”

Tom didn’t answer, and opted to stare in disdain at the white ceiling.

Harry shifted his attention to the book, and browsed through the first page.

_Oh._

_Oh, that’s actually quite interesting._

_Gellert sounds hot,_ Harry observed, _this Percival guy seems deranged- an orange and green striped cloak?_

“It’s astonishing,” Tom said, slowly recovering from his earlier anger, “the consensus for good writing in the canon of Western literature can be an afterthought when brought against- Potter? Potter, are you-“ Tom’s eyes widened as his initial mortification resurfaced, “are you reading _Gellert’s Choice_?”

Harry didn’t answer.

“Potter- Are you reading _Gellert’s Choice_?”

Harry looked up from the book and shrugged, “you said it was interesting.” He rarely enjoyed literature, although Lily did try to shove him in that direction, he was very picky with what he read.

“Interesting?” Tom glowered, “did you not hear a word I said?”

Harry blinked and shifted his gaze back to the book, “a negative reaction is still a reaction as far as I’m concerned,” he flipped the page, “it’s pretty good. I like it.”

“You like it?” Tom leaned forward, “why?”

The raven ignored him again in favor of the book.

* * *

  
“It’s a good book,” Abraxas answered when asked about the piece, “a bit on the chick flick side, but not awful.”

“You’ve read it?” Tom interjected, “all of it?”

“I don’t know what to say, Tom,” Abraxas took of his sunglasses, “there was gay sex, and it was hot. People like sex. Especially when it’s hot.”

“That’s absurd. This book might be popular, but I doubt _sex_ is salient.”

“ _Gellert’s Choice_ is hardly the only example, my friend,” Abraxas grinned, “50 Shades of Grey? That series with the faeries? Sylvia Path? _Twilight?_ If you want all the examples of society’s wicked fixation on innovative shagging then we’re going to be here a while.”

Abraxas leaned across the table, “Tom, the only thing we can take away from here is that _sex sells_.”

Tom sighed at his friend’s theatricality, “even when the narrative is unoriginal and the writing is mediocre at best? _I_ can write better than this.”

“And? Not everyone is looking to read Huxley,” Abraxas laughed, “Now, if you want to try for a Pulitzer? It has to be _damn good_ erotica with enough exposition to make it look sage.”

Tom nodded for the rest of lunch, and went through his classes feeling not quite inspired, but with an itch of a new motive.

As he entered his apartment it was already dark out, he could see that Potter’s bedroom lights were off, and that his roommate was probably asleep. He stepped into his own bedroom, which consisted of a wooden desk, a small bookshelf, and a twin bed.

He unpacked his bag only to find that his copy of _Gellert’s Choice_ was missing. Tom felt a twinge of disappointment at not being able to throw the book out of his window, until he remembered leaving it with Potter.

He sighed and went into the living space for the book.

The coffee table was empty, save for a black coaster. He couldn’t spot it on the floor either.

 _Potter must still have it_ , Tom supposed, _the bastard actually enjoys drivel._

He went back into his room with his hands in his pockets, and sat at his desk, ruminating on the missing book and his own ambition for literary success.

 _If the people want sex,_ Tom decided, _I’ll give them sex._

* * *

“Riddle?”

“Hey, Riddle?”

The male in question grunted in response, eyes focused on his laptop.

“Your biology project is on my coat.”

The man in question hummed in response, “maybe you should have placed your coat on the hanger.”

* * *

“Riddle! Your friends are here.”

“Tell them to go away.”

“What- they’re _your_ friends.”

“Just tell them, I promise they won’t cry,” he furrowed his brows, “though Abraxas might give you a hard time, just kick him a bit and he’ll leave.”

* * *

“I’m going out for dinner, don’t wait up for me,” Harry picked his coat up from the sofa, “Tom? You want anything while I’m out?”

Harry entered his roommate’s bedroom only to find the latter sleeping, his laptop set on his stomach, illuminating the male’s face in the dark room.

“Microwaved take out then,” Harry muttered as he shut the door.

* * *

“Harry!” Tom called out from the living space, “Have you seen my bag?”

“Is it under the couch?” The raven called from the bathroom, “I think you left it under the couch!”

“Why would I leave it under-” Tom stopped as he stepped on something, he reached down to grab at the object. It was the buckle of his bag’s strap. His bag was beneath the couch.

Tom took a deep breath before calling out, “nevermind!”

“Did you find it?”

“Get back in the bathroom, you’re dripping water on the carpet.”

* * *

It took Tom three months to finish _The Master of Death_.

It was dark.

It was tragic and _brimming_ with undeniable tension.

It was _marvelous_.

“It’s not very romantic, isn’t it?” Abraxas chuckled hesitantly as he passed the story back to Tom, “it’s fascinating, and the lore is definitely original, but the _erotica_ aspect is still lacking.”

“How is it not romantic? The Master of Death and his partner stay together eternally- and I very _heavily_ implied that they spend it having sex,” Tom frowned, “and they _do_ have sex. _Multiple_ times. _Creatively.”_

“It’s not _just_ sex- though nice touch with the sword,” Abraham’s countered, “erotica’s target audience are grandmothers in buses on the way to the market. They can appreciate a complicated plot, but they’re really looking for an escape. A love story. With feelings.”

“The characters have feelings,” Tom frowned.

“The characters have sex,” Abraxas explained, “what you wrote is essentially biology. You need to write love, or at least, characters who feel strongly for each other.”

Tom thought he wrote it just fine, but considered the criticism nevertheless. 

“Hey Tom?” Abraxas asked, “is Oscar based on someone? Someone we know?”

* * *

“You wrote me,” Harry said as he stepped into Tom’s bedroom with the story on hand.

“I didn’t write _you_ ,” Tom scoffed, “I wrote a character with some similar traits as you, but he isn’t you.”

“If Oscar isn’t me, then Leo _definitely_ isn’t you, right?” Harry rolled his eyes and sat on Tom’s bed, “So you wrote a character based on me, that’s not a big deal-“

“I didn’t-“

“The sex sucks, Tom.”

“I can’t believe you-“

“It does,” Harry insisted, “it’s like- you have Oscar, and he was alone for centuries after the war, and then he finds his soulmate and- a mediocre blow job? That’s it? Centuries of waiting and he doesn’t even swallow?”

“Doesn’t even- why should he swallow? He just met him- Leo is a stranger to Oscar- the health risks-“

“Would fly right out of Oscar’s mind,” Harry said.

”That’s senseless,” Tom frowned, “they’re soulmates, but they aren’t even in _love_ yet.”

“Yes, but the _desperation_ , Tom,” Harry said, “Oscar is impatient, and reckless, and acts before he thinks- his desperation and the _century_ wait should override that at least-“

“That’s what would happen if I was in his position,” Harry mumbled.

Tom considered this, and neglected to consider the next words that flew out his mouth.

“What if we did place you in his position?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > scream at me on tumblr [@vogueriddle](https://vogueriddle.tumblr.com)
> 
> > I’ve never studied literature I’m sorry Tom is sprouting bs <3
> 
> > The next chapter will be painful for me and also for everyone else. It won’t be angst, but it will be smthn
> 
> > Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Please feel free to comment or leave a kudos I adore u
> 
> > I’m not gonna tag the specific sex stuff so read by your own volition <3


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